King of Spades (12 page)

Alexi concentrated on avoiding guards and blending in with the shadows. She was determined. She wouldn’t fail.

The night smelled of damp forest and of the strong scent of the ravenwood blooms still clinging to her skin and clothing. Above the sound of the thundering falls, a wolf’s distant howl caused her to shiver. What if there were predators out here…other than Darronn?

She shoved away thoughts of him, refusing to dwell on them. Instead she focused on traveling as silently as possible. Soon her feet felt frozen in addition to being cut and bruised from the flower trellis, sticks, and small rocks poking out of the forest loam. Through the trees warm light from the village beckoned her. Thank goodness this portion of the forest wasn’t too thick or she’d never have been able to find her way in the dark.

When she was far enough away from the château to feel a little safer, she couldn’t keep her thoughts and feelings back any longer.

It was actually tearing at her heart and soul to leave Darronn.

Damn it!

How could she have allowed the man to get so completely under her skin the way he had? With Darronn she’d had the best sex of her life, every day for the past few Tarok weeks. Several times a day, in fact. But more than that, he touched a chord within her. It still amazed her that such a powerful, imposing man had cared enough to compromise in order to please her.

In public they had visibly shocked his people because she walked at his side and kept her head held high. It was apparently even more shocking that she did not wear his collar of ownership or the nipple piercings that she learned were expected of his personal attendants and of his future queen. She had often sensed that it both confused and intrigued his servants and subjects, but they respected their king enough not to question his wisdom or his decisions.

When she had talked to Darronn about her missing sister, he had promised that she would see Alice again, and she believed that he had every intention of helping her. But she couldn’t wait around for him to decide the time was right. She had to find her twin
now
.

It was chilly enough that the blue-green mist began to rise up from the ground, reminding her of the day she’d woken strapped and bound to golden stakes in the meadow. Moonlight glinted off her bracelets as it seeped through the trees.

Once Alexi slipped into the village, she passed as close to several cottages as she dared, hoping to find some kind of shoes. By the time she’d reached the other end of the village, she’d just about given up hope when she spotted some. Beside a cottage door was a pair of boots that looked a little big, but close enough to her size to fit.

She hurried over to the house, as quietly as possible. But as she reached for the boots, it occurred to her that they could be a child’s shoes, and what if the family was too poor to afford more?

Shaking her head, Alexi slowly straightened and then backed away. Sighing, she flipped her braid over her shoulder and ran her fingers through her loose bangs. She’d rather have her feet freeze off than steal from someone who needed shoes more than she did.

Skin along her spine crawled and hair prickled at her nape. Something—or someone—was watching her.

Darronn crouched, ready to pounce on the
anlia
buck when he scented a change in the wind. The buck apparently sensed it too, and bolted into the forest.

Holding back a growl, Darronn raised his muzzle. Alexi’s sweet musk teased his nose, and then the smell of her blood nearly drove him into a rage. Had she been abducted from his room? The bastard would be dead before he made it beyond the village.

He bounded through the forest, toward his woman, scenting the wind as he ran. He caught no unusual smells, only Alexi’s fragrance of starflower and midnight mingling with the familiar night perfume of his realm.

Alexi was attempting to leave him.

The realization tore at his gut and his heart as he sped toward his mate. After all they had shared during her time in Spades, Darronn had hoped she would feel something for him, as he did for her.

Holding back a roar of anger and frustration, he bounded over streams and logs, through bushes and around boulders. He had been hunting a good distance from his château, and was far yet from his woman. Dangers still abounded in his realm. If she stumbled upon a rogue mountain wolf, a river bear, or a cave-dwelling primitive… Darronn growled and doubled his speed.

Thank the skies Mikaela’s attention remained on Hearts these days. Her mind-war had affected Darronn’s people, as it had all of Tarok, but since the battle of last summer no mindspells had been cast in Spades. In this the sorceress Kalina had been certain.

Every day Darronn had shared with his future queen had made him desire and respect her more. Alexi was beautiful, fiery, intelligent, stubborn, and determined. It amazed him at how easily he had given into compromise with his mate, and how much it pleased him to have a woman with such inner strength.

She spoke often of her sister, Alice, and Darronn knew that one day he would need to inform her that her sister was indeed safe and well, and that she was now the High Queen of Tarok. Of course one day he would take Alexi to see her sister, but he knew that first his mate needed to find her place in this world, at his side. And her soul still needed to heal.

Although she gave willingly of her body, she had given him nothing of her heart. He ached to know more of her, but she kept much of her feelings sealed tight inside where not even the strongest of wills could unlock them and set them free.

While he ran toward his mate, it occurred to Darronn that Alexi gave no more than she received. He had shared with her very little of his past, of his disappointments and failures, or even his triumphs. If he opened more to her, would she in turn open to him?

The fact that he was even considering such a thing would have been enough to give him pause if he had the time to spare.

When he neared the village Alexi’s perfume grew stronger, and Darronn slowed his pace to a steady lope. He scented no dangers around her. She was alone, and he was certain she was making her way back toward the meadow where he had taken her. Likely in hopes the looking glass would be there.

His fear for his woman turned to anger that flamed in his gut. Alexi’s defection dishonored him. If his people knew she had left him, they would begin to doubt his ability to perform his duties as King of Spades.

At the end of the village her scent was so strong it would have driven him to his knees were he in his man form. He slowly stalked his prey, stopping in the shadows of a cottage when he saw her.

She was looking at a pair of shoes beside a doorstep. Blood trickled down countless cuts upon her legs, arms, face. It was obvious she had climbed down the trellis to the terraced gardens. When he returned with her to the château, he would ensure the immediate removal of the trellis.

He watched as she reached for the boots and he narrowed his gaze. Would she take from his people, only to serve her immediate need?

But Alexi shook her head, straightened her posture, then backed away. He had sensed the war within her and her final decision, which pleased him greatly. Yet did nothing to dispel his anger at her leaving him.

Alexi went still and fear flashed across her face, and he knew she had sensed his presence.

Heart pounding, Alexi slipped into the shadows behind the cottage and hurried out of the village. When she reached the forest path, she ran. Chill air rushed over her bared skin as she bolted through the trees. The moonlit path was bright enough to allow her to run without tripping, but the forest was growing denser, the mist thicker, and soon she would be forced to walk—if her bare feet didn’t freeze first.

A snapping sound echoed through the forest behind her. Alexi’s heart went into overdrive and she increased her speed. Her lungs ached, her mouth tasted like copper and blood rushed in her head.

Something was after her.

What can I do?

Climb a tree! She bolted off the dirt path and into the thick forest grass, but it was so dark she could barely see and she had to slow down. Alexi sized up tree after tree, but those big enough to climb were all too tall for her—no branches low enough for her to grab onto.

She stumbled over a root and dropped to her hands and knees. Rocks and twigs dug into her flesh and stung at the wounds from the trellis. She forced herself up again, frantically searching for a tree to hide in.

There!

A yard, maybe two yards ahead. Her feet ached and her body burned from all the scratches, and her lungs felt like they would burst. She reached the tree and grabbed the lowest branch to pull herself up.

Something slammed into her back. Alexi screamed and lost her grip on the branch. She pitched forward and landed face first in a pile of leaves and dirt. Air whooshed from her lungs and when she sucked her breath in, her mouth filled with debris. Her head spun with fear as a mammoth creature pinned her to the ground, its paws braced against the skin left bare by her skimpy dress. Her cuts and scrapes burned and she was having problems catching her breath.

But what did that matter if she was about to be eaten?

The beast’s tremendous roar shattered the night.

Darronn.
She would know his roar anywhere, and if she hadn’t been so scared, she would have recognized his primal scent right away, too.

Relief followed by a quick dose of fear washed over her in warm then cold waves. She was relieved it was Darronn who had her pinned and not some other beast—but from the tone of his roar, he was good and pissed at her.

But he wouldn’t hurt her…would he?

Wait a minute. She shouldn’t be relieved it was him. She should be angry that he had screwed up her escape plan.

It is obvious I have been far too lenient with you,
the king’s voice growled in her mind.
I intend to remedy that at once.

Alexi spat dirt and leaves from her mouth and tried to get up, but he had her pinned too tight. “Goddamnit, Darronn. What did you expect? You kidnap me and I’m supposed to just go with it? Now get off!”

You wish me to apologize? Choosing and claiming is the way of our people!
Darronn’s claws flexed, pricking her flesh, but not too deeply.
I honor you by my choice, I offer you my kingdom, my companionship, my—and you dishonor me?

“I’m no one’s captive.” She sniffed, feeling uncertain. “Not even yours.”

Silence, wench!
he shouted in her mind.

“Screw you.” Alexi struggled to get out from under his tiger paws. “You overgrown, hairy, big-dicked sonofabitch!”

Darronn roared again, and leaves literally showered down from the trees and landed on Alexi’s head.

His weight shifted…and the paws on her bare back turned to his hands. In the next moment Darronn was forcing her legs apart and kneeling between her thighs. “I can make you beg for my cock,” he said as he kept her pinned with one hand around her neck and yanked her dress up with his other. “I could have ensured long ago that you would have no desire to leave me.”

“Like hell.” Alexi bit back a moan as he pressed his leather clad erection to her bare ass and ground her pussy against the bed of leaves beneath her. Her breasts felt swollen and needy, and her clit ached like mad. “All I ever wanted from you was a good lay. It’s time to move on.”

“No more lies. No more games. You are captive to your own refusal to love.” With a fierce growl, Darronn leaned over her back and bit her shoulder, causing her to gasp out loud as he marked her again. At the same time a heavy musk surrounded Alexi, and it seemed to come from him. She stiffened as her body absorbed the musk, filling her senses and blurring her thoughts.

All of a sudden she was wild with lust and raging warmth filled her body, chasing away the chill and even making her feet warm. Her mind became so clouded with passion and desire that she could think of nothing but screwing Darronn. She needed him so badly she couldn’t stand another moment without his cock in her pussy.

“Oh, god.” Alexi thrashed against him, arching her ass tighter against his erection while trying to break free of his grip. “Please, Darronn. Now!”

“How must you refer to me, wench?” he asked as he moved his hips away from hers, denying her even the pleasure of his cock against her skin.

“Master.” Alexi’s body was shaking so badly for him, her mind so filled with desire that she could think of nothing but what it would take to please him. “Fuck me, Master.”

Darronn backed away. She scrambled to her knees and practically lunged at him. He grabbed her braid, forcing her to remain on her knees. His features were stern and masterful, his eyes unforgiving as he looked at her. “You will do as I say or I will not give you the pleasure of my cock inside your quim. It is time you understood that sometimes, someone other than Alexi might know best.”

Alexi whimpered, but waited for his instructions, knowing that she was going to go out of her mind if he didn’t take her soon. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was crazy—why was she acting this way? But the lust was so intense she didn’t give a damn. She had to have him.

Using his free hand, Darronn yanked down the strips of leather covering her breasts, exposing them to his gaze and the chill air of the forest. He then waved his hand and his clothing vanished completely, like he’d done many times in their bedroom.

When had she started to think of it as
their
bedroom?

His grip on her hair remained tight as he drew her toward his hips. “Suck my cock, wench.”

Without hesitation, Alexi took him into her mouth and wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft. God, but she loved to go down on him. Okay, so she might have been running away, but it wasn’t because she didn’t like being with this hunk of a kidnapping bastard.

She squirmed as he held her braid tighter and took control of her movements, thrusting his cock in and out. She always enjoyed sucking him off, but right now she wanted him in her pussy instead. Damn, but she needed to come.